Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga as depicted by Ivan Bilibin (1902).

In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga /ˈbɑːbə jəˈɡɑː/[1] (Russian: Баба-яга, Polish: Baba Jaga) is a supernatural being (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who appears as a deformed and/or ferocious-looking witch. Baba Yaga flies around in a mortar, wields a pestle, and dwells deep in the forest in a hut usually described as standing on chicken legs (or sometimes a single chicken leg).[2] Baba Yaga may help or hinder those that encounter or seek her out. She sometimes plays a maternal role, and also has associations with forest wildlife. According to Vladimir Propp's folktale morphology, Baba Yaga commonly appears as either a donor or villain, or may be altogether ambiguous.

Andreas Johns identifies Baba Yaga as "one of the most memorable and distinctive figures in Slavic European folklore", and observes that she is "enigmatic" and often exhibits "striking ambiguity".[3] Johns summarizes Baba Yaga as "a many-faceted figure, capable of inspiring researchers to see her as a Cloud, Moon, Death, Winter, Snake, Bird, Pelican, Mermaid or Earth Goddess, totemic matriarchal ancestress, female initiator, phallic mother, or archetypal image".[4]

Etymology

Variations of the name Baba Yaga are found in the languages of the Eastern Slavic peoples. The first element, baba, is transparently a babble word, meaning 'woman', or, specifically, 'old woman'. The same word is still used for both grandmother and old woman in general in Bulgarian, Macedonian, Romanian and Serbo-Croatian languages. In modern Russian, the word бабушка babushka (meaning 'grandmother') derives from it, as does the word babcia (also 'grandmother') in Polish or бабця babcya in Ukrainian. Baba may also have a pejorative connotation in modern Ukrainian and Russian, both for women as well as for "an unmanly, timid, or characterless man".[4] In Polish, the term is considered to be pejorative, meaning 'vicious or ugly woman'.[5] In Czech both of those meanings apply. Similarly to other kinship terms in Slavic languages, baba may be employed outside of kinship, potentially as a result of taboo. For example, in variety of Slavic languages and dialects, the word baba may be applied to various animals, natural phenomena, and objects, such as types of mushrooms or a cake or pear. This function extends to various geographic features. In the Polesia region of Ukraine, the plural баби baby may refer to an autumn funeral feast.[4]

These associations have led to a variety of theories on the figure of Baba Yaga, though the presence of the element baba may have simply been taken as its primary meaning of 'grandmother' or 'old woman'. The element may appear as a means of glossing the second element, yaga, with a familiar component. Additionally, baba may have also been applied as a means of distinguishing Baba Yaga from a male counterpart.[4]

While a variety of etymologies have been proposed for the second element of the name, Yaga, it remains far more etymologically difficult and no clear consensus among scholars has resulted. For example, in the 19th century, Alexander Afanasyev proposed the derivation of Proto-Slavic *ǫžь ('serpent') and Sanskrit अहि ahi ('serpent, snake'). This etymology has subsequently been explored by other scholars in the 20th century.[6]

Related terms to the second element of the name, Yaga, appear in various Slavic languages: Serbo-Croatian jeza ('horror, shudder, chill'), Slovenian jeza ('anger'), Old Czech jězě ('witch, legendary evil female being'), modern Czech jezinka ('wicked wood nymph, dryad'), and Polish jędza ('witch, evil woman, fury'). The term appears in Old Church Slavonic as jęza or jędza (meaning 'disease, illness'). In other Indo-European languages the element iaga has been linked to Lithuanian engti ('to oppress, to skin'), ingti ('to become lazy, to become bald, to shed skin') and ingas ('lazy, slow'), Old English inca ('doubt, worry, pain'), and Old Norse ekki ('pain, worry').[6]

Folklore

The heroine Vasilisa outside of the hut of Baba Yaga as depicted by Ivan Bilibin (1902).

The first clear reference to Baba Yaga (Iaga baba) occurs in 1755; Mikhail V. Lomonosov's Rossiiskaya grammatika ('Russian grammar'). In Lomonosov's grammar, Baba Yaga is mentioned twice among other figures largely from Slavic tradition. The second of the two mentions occurs within a list of Slavic gods and beings next to their presumed equivalence in Roman mythology (the Slavic god Perun, for example, appears equated with the Roman god Jupiter). Baba Yaga, however, appears in a third section without an equivalence, attesting to perception of her uniqueness even in this first known attestation.[7]

In the narratives in which Baba Yaga appears, she displays a variety of typical attributes: a turning, chicken-legged hut; a mortar, pestle, and sometimes a mop or a broom. Baba Yaga frequently bears the epithet "bony leg" (Баба-Яга Костяная Нога, Baba Iaga Kostianaya Noga), and when inside of her dwelling, she may be found stretched out over the stove, reaching from one corner of the hut to another. Baba Yaga may sense and mention the "Russian scent" (русский дух, russky dukh) of those that visit her. Her nose may stick into the ceiling. Particular emphasis may be placed by some narrators on the repulsiveness of her nose or other body parts.[8]

In some tales a trio of Baba Yagas appear as sisters, all sharing the same name. For example, in a version of "The Maiden Tsar" collected in the 19th century by Alexander Afanasyev, Ivan, a handsome merchant’s son, makes his way to the home of one of three Baba Yagas:

He journeyed onwards, straight ahead [...] and finally came to a little hut; it stood in the open field, turning on chicken legs. He entered and found Baba Yaga the Bony-legged. "Fie, fie," she said, "the Russian smell was never heard of nor caught sight of here, but it has come by itself. Are you here of your own free will or by compulsion, my good youth?" "Largely of my own free will, and twice as much by compulsion! Do you know, Baba Yaga, where lies the thrice tenth kingdom?" "No, I do not," she said, and told him to go to her second sister; she might know.[9]

Ivan walks for some time before encountering a small hut identical to the first. This Baba Yaga makes the same comments and asks the same question as the first, and Ivan asks the same question. This second Baba Yaga does not know either and directs him to the third, but says that if she gets angry with him "and wants to devour you, take three horns from her and ask her permission to blow them; blow the first one softly, the second one louder, and third still louder". Ivan thanks her and continues on his journey.[10]

After walking for some time, Ivan eventually finds the chicken-legged hut of the youngest of the three sisters turning in an open field. This third and youngest of the Baba Yagas makes the same comment about "the Russian smell" before running to whet her teeth and consume Ivan. Ivan begs her to give him three horns and she does so. The first he blows softly, the second louder, and the third louder yet. This causes birds of all sorts to arrive and swarm the hut. One of the birds is the firebird, which tells him to hop on its back or Baba Yaga will eat him. He does so and the Baba Yaga rushes him and grabs the firebird by its tail. The firebird leaves with Ivan, leaving Baba Yaga behind with a fist full of firebird feathers.[10]

Ježibaba, a figure closely related to Baba Yaga, appears in the folklore of the West Slavic peoples. The name Ježibaba and its variants are directly related to that of Baba Yaga. The two figures may stem from a common figure as far back as the medieval period, if not further, and both figures are at times similarly ambiguous. The two differ in their appearance in different tale types and differences in details regarding their appearances. Questions linger regarding the limited Slavic area—West Slavic nations, Slovakia, and the Czech lands—in which references to Ježibaba are recorded.[11]

Scholars have identified a variety of beings in folklore and mythology who share similarities of varying extent with Baba Yaga. These similarities may be due to either direct relation or cultural contact between the Eastern Slavs and other surrounding peoples. In Eastern Europe, these figures include the Bulgarian gorska majka ('Forest Mother'); the Serbian Baba Korizma, Gvozdenzuba ('Iron Tooth'), Baba Roga (also used to scare children in Croatia and Bosnia), šumska majka ('Forest Mother'), and the babice; and the Slovenian Pehtra baba (Perchta). In Romanian folklore, similarities have been identified in several figures, including Muma padurii ('Forest Mother'). In neighboring Germanic Europe, similarities have been observed between the Alpine Perchta and Holda or Holle in the folklore of Central and Northern Germany, and the Swiss Chlungeri.[12]

Notes

  1. ↑ Lewis, J. Patrick (2014). M is for Monster: A Fantastic Creatures Alphabet. Illustrated by Gerald Kelley. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Sleeping Bear Press. p. 3.
  2. ↑ Paul D. Steeves (1988). The Modern Encyclopedia of Religions in Russia and the Soviet Union. Academic International Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-87569-106-0.
  3. ↑ Johns (2004), pp. 1-3.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Johns (2004), p. 9.
  5. ↑ "Baba jaga - Słownik języka polskiego". Polish Scientific Publishers PWN.
  6. 1 2 Johns (2004), p. 10.
  7. ↑ Johns (2004), p. 12.
  8. ↑ Johns (1998), p. 21.
  9. ↑ Guterman (1973), p. 231.
  10. 1 2 Guterman (1973), p. 232.
  11. ↑ Johns (2004), p. 61-66.
  12. ↑ Johns (2004), pp. 68-84.

References

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